4 h. ago Steel, cars, copper: list grows of US import tariffs by category, not country

US President Donald Trump increased tariffs this week on imports from 14 countries with duties of 25 to 40 per cent, making waves in Asia where most of the target countries are located. While those country-by-country outcomes have captured much of Trump’s trade spotlight, the US has also raised tariffs on a series of product sectors – in some cases, made anywhere in the world – affecting producers from China to Canada. Copper was the latest target this week. The US now levies tariffs on the...

Politics

6 h. ago Fresh case of bitumen in water supply for Hong Kong housing, lawmaker says

Hong Kong authorities have provided temporary tanks and vowed to improve the pipes for thousands of households in Sai Wan Ho after bitumen particles were found in water supply samples, according to a lawmaker and the management of a housing estate. Lawmaker Edward Leung Hei said on Wednesday that he had also received complaints about particles in the water from some residents at the Grand Promenade and Lei King Wan estates, which are home to about 2,000 and 2,300 households respectively. “The...

Politics

6 h. ago China deflation worries, top Chinese oncologist’s death: SCMP daily highlights

Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China denies giving Iran air defence systems after conflict with Israel China has denied transferring surface-to-air missile batteries to Iran following Israel’s attacks on the Islamic Republic last month. 2. Export ban for Taiwan firms a stern warning for separatist forces: Beijing Beijing has banned the export of dual-use items to eight Taiwan-based...

Events

7 h. ago University of Hong Kong’s revised IT hub plan angers Pok Fu Lam residents

A revised expansion plan by the University of Hong Kong (HKU) has triggered fresh anger among Pok Fu Lam residents, who have accused it of dismissing alternative sites without proper due diligence and only meeting them for three hours over the past eight months. But some lawmakers on Wednesday said the university had made “major concessions” by leaving a green belt in the area largely untouched and altering its proposal to instead consider building its global innovation centre on an adjacent...

Politics

7 h. ago Hong Kong tech and telecoms giants unite to combat online fraud

Hong Kong’s major social media, messaging platform providers and telecoms firms have pledged to strengthen checks on advertisers’ identities and remove fraudulent advertisements embedded with phishing links. Seven social media or messaging platforms and six telecommunications companies have joined the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s (HKMA) Anti-scam Consumer Protection Charter 3.0. The initiative commits them to proactively detecting fraud on their platforms and networks, as well as cooperating...

Politics

7 h. ago Will Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill offer opportunities for China?

US President Donald Trump’s latest tax and spending act might “cause some trouble” for China, according to analysts. However, they also said Beijing may be able to benefit in certain areas if the act – known officially as the One Big Beautiful Bill – generates further political instability and damages domestic industries such as the US clean energy sector. The act aims to make permanent tax cuts, lock in Trump’s priorities on border and defence financing, increase Washington’s debt limit by US$5...

Politics

8 h. ago Pungent protest: Thai man douses portrait of Cambodia’s Hun Sen with fish sauce

A man who embarked on a 30km (19-mile) protest walk barefoot and splashed fish sauce on a portrait of Cambodia’s Senate leader and former prime minister Hun Sen outside the country’s embassy in Bangkok was briefly detained but later released by Thai police. Angered by Cambodia’s actions during a recent border clash with Thailand, 69-year-old retired tennis coach Thewa Sritawan walked for almost five hours from his home in Pak Kret, in neighbouring Nonthaburi province, at dawn on Monday to carry...

Events

8 h. ago JD.com’s US$1.4 billion plan heats up delivery battle with Meituan, Alibaba

JD.com has pledged more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.4 billion) under its ambitious “Double Hundred Plan” to support so-called benchmark brands across various categories, further heating up China’s on-demand delivery sector, as industry-wide daily orders reached a new high of more than 200 million. The Beijing-based e-commerce giant’s latest initiative seeks to elevate sales of select brands beyond one million items on its platform via measures that include increased traffic, marketing incentives...

Society

8 h. ago China pledges to build megaprojects despite pivot to domestic consumption

China will continue to “scientifically” plan and build megaprojects while maintaining its “investment intensity” over the next five years, officials said – even as Beijing seeks to shift to a more consumption-driven growth model. “To further drive economic development and improve people’s livelihoods, it is essential to maintain a certain scale of investment,” said Li Chunlin, vice-chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country’s top economic planner, at a press...

Politics

9 h. ago Chinese EV maker Zeekr plugs in to hybrids to tap into soaring sales

Zeekr, a premium electric vehicle (EV) unit of Geely Auto, has jumped on the hybrid technology bandwagon to widen its customer base amid rising competition in the world’s largest automotive market. The Hangzhou-based company has become the latest mainland Chinese EV assembler to launch plug-in hybrids, leaving Shanghai-headquartered Nio as the only domestic company making pure EVs. US carmaker Tesla, which produces cars on the mainland, is another maker of pure EVs. “Nearly all Chinese carmakers...

Politics

9 h. ago Hong Kong waiter charged with inciting subversion under national security law

A waiter has become the latest person charged under the national security law, with prosecutors accusing him of inciting others to overthrow Beijing and the Hong Kong government in a series of social media posts. Chan Ho-hin, 22, on Wednesday saw his original sedition charge upgraded to one of inciting subversion after West Kowloon Court approved a prosecution request to amend the indictment. The defendant has been remanded in custody since he was first charged on April 30 with a count of...

Events

9 h. ago Hong Kong minister hints at scrapping of MPF tax break proposal for elderly

Hong Kong’s labour minister has dropped the biggest hint yet that authorities intend to scrap a proposal to raise the tax deduction amount for employers’ voluntary pension contributions to older workers, a plan for encouraging greater workforce participation. Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said on Wednesday that a government working group on promoting the silver economy decided that the proposed tax initiative “complicated” the policy objective of the Mandatory Provident Fund...

Politics

10 h. ago ‘Quintessence of animal cruelty’: Singapore court doubles cat killer’s sentence

A Singaporean man who pleaded guilty to killing multiple cats by hurling them from high-rise housing blocks has had his jail term nearly doubled after an appeal court ruled his initial sentence was too lenient given the cruelty of his actions. Barrie Lin Pengli, 33, will now serve 27 months in prison – up from the original 14-month sentence handed down earlier this year – following a successful appeal by prosecutors who argued that the case warranted a far harsher penalty. Lin had pleaded guilty...

Events

10 h. ago Surprise US copper tariff tests the mettle of China’s vast refining industry

Shockwaves from Washington’s decision to impose a 50 per cent tariff on copper imports are still rippling across the Pacific, and China, the world’s largest consumer of the metal, is feeling the effects. Copper futures traded in the US rallied on the tariff threat, expanding a price gap with the London and China markets, where prices fell. The most active copper futures contracts traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell by 1.36 per cent on Wednesday following US President Donald Trump’s...

Politics

11 h. ago The rise and rise of India’s luxury property market: ‘no plateau in sight’

When Indian property developer DLF launched a housing project in Gurgaon on the outskirts of capital New Delhi last month, all the flats sold out within a week despite a minimum price tag of more than US$1 million – a figure that would have daunted most buyers until recently. The successful sale of the project called DLF Privana North in Gurugram followed two others over the 116-acre (47-hectare) residential development, DLF Privana South and DLF Privana West, each of which were sold out in 72...

Politics

11 h. ago ‘EV moment’ for humanoid robots may be 5 years away, UBS says

Humanoid robots are unlikely to deliver significant productivity gains or be disruptive to household routines within the next five years, due to major barriers in artificial intelligence (AI), data collection and inadequate regulatory frameworks, according to UBS. “The ‘EV moment’ [for humanoid robotics] may not happen within five years,” Phyllis Wang, China industrials analyst at UBS Securities, said at a briefing on Monday. Wang defined an “EV moment” as the pivotal breakthrough when...

Politics

11 h. ago Average cost of EV licence in Hong Kong could rise 536% under government proposal

The average cost of an electric vehicle (EV) licence in Hong Kong could increase by more than 500 per cent over the next five years, authorities have said, adding that they will also raise the tolls at two tunnels by 60 per cent amid a significant budget deficit. The proposed measures announced by the Transport and Logistics Bureau on Wednesday also included doubling metered parking fees and a 25 to 50 per cent increase in penalties for illegal parking and 19 other traffic violations. The...

Politics

11 h. ago Off the hook: South Korean fishers forced to dump US$1.9 million of bluefin tuna

A bountiful haul of bluefin tuna by South Korean fishers earlier this week came with a catch: they had to throw away more than 1,300 tuna valued at about US$1.9 million into the waters after exceeding an annual regional fishing quota. The mass dumping has sparked calls from the local industry for more flexibility in balancing between fulfilling obligations on fishing limits and maritime conservation. The tuna was accidentally caught by fixed nets meant to trap smaller species like mackerel and...

Economics

11 h. ago US ‘remains dependent’: why China’s rare earth dominance is far from over

China is expected to maintain a strategic edge over the United States in the rare earth industry, thanks to Beijing’s long-term investments in advanced mining and processing technologies. In contrast, the US is paying the price for decades of underinvestment, obsolete policies and the absence of a coherent strategy, according to a report by the New York-based think tank Strategy Risks. The warning came as Beijing increasingly leverages its dominance in the global rare earth supply chain –...

Politics

12 h. ago Hong Kong introduces bill to expand scope for punishing lawmakers’ misconduct

Hong Kong authorities have introduced a bill to the legislature that will pave the way for establishing an expanded mechanism under which lawmakers could face suspension and pay cuts for misconduct. The Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) (Amendment) Bill was tabled by Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki for its first reading on Wednesday. The bill aims to expand the scope of financial penalties to cover situations in which lawmakers were suspended for violating the proposed Codes for...

Politics